


Courage

by csi_sanders1129



Series: Courage [1]
Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Guys In Masks, Bad Guys Not In Masks, Bullies, Child Abuse, Cooking, First Kiss, Football, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, High School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prom, School Dances, Slash, Slow Build, Speeches, Sports, criminals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-04
Updated: 2011-03-04
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4398068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csi_sanders1129/pseuds/csi_sanders1129
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fred and Shaggy go from friends to more as they live through ten courage-requiring events at Coolsville High.  SLASH. Mystery Begins!Verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, and there is one reference to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy!

**1\. Stand Up / Sugarland**

"Shag, you ready to go?" Fred calls out as he rounds the corner to the hall that the other boy's locker is in. They're leaving for the Browns versus Bears game in Cleveland. And the sooner they get going, the better.

He's really not expecting to see anything out of the ordinary, just Shaggy packing up his books or munching on an afterschool snack or something. He's certainly not expecting to see another football player – Red Herring, the one who always trips Shaggy on the bus and shoulder-checks him in hallways – looming over him, one hand fisted in his friend's green t-shirt, and the other poised to land a punch that probably won't be gentle.

"Zoinks, like, this is most uncalled for!" Comes Shaggy's near-hysterical voice, followed by a completely hysterical half-giggle that spurs Fred into action.

Before he even realizes what he's doing, Fred is down the hall and slipping into the meager amount of space that separates Red's fist from Shaggy's terrified face.

"Okay, you've had your fun, Red. Now leave him alone."

He can feel Shaggy frantically clinging to him from behind, and he hears a mumbled mantra of thank you thank you thank you,' in his ear as he does his best to put more space between them and the volatile bully.

But, Red looks decidedly unimpressed with Fred's attempt to defend his new friend. Insulted, even. "Just because you have a crush on the freak-boy, it doesn't mean I have to be nice to him."

Fred doesn't feel the need to dignify the bully's trash-talking with an actual response. He stays in front of Shaggy, refusing to let him get hurt through his own inaction again. "Back off. You don't get to do this anymore, it has to stop."

"Yeah?" Red still doesn't seem all that bothered by Fred's apparent loyalties. "Who's gonna stop me? You?"

"I will if I have to," Fred says, at the same time he hears Shaggy reply with something like "Fred, let's just get outta here…"

Red smirks and backs off a few steps. "Go ahead, Jones, take your boyfriend and run away, I dare you."

Shaggy grabs at Fred's arm and tries to pull him away, now that they aren't pinned against the wall of metal; he picks up his bag and closes his locker so that Red can't get any ideas about stuffing him into it. "Come on, Freddy, let's go."

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy, Shaggy." Fred says, and he knows he's probably right. As soon as they turn their backs, Red will probably make a move.

"What, you don't believe me?" Red laughs, and he chooses then to lunge forward and make a grab at them – thought Fred isn't sure which one of them he's actually after at this point. Sure, it had always been Shaggy getting tripped on the bus, but Fred had been protesting it since day one and Red had shown no mercy on the matter. He's really been after both of them all along, maybe, just in different ways.

One hand closes around Shaggy's arm, the other fists into Fred's letterman jacket, and they both get hauled in close before they're shoved back against the wall of lockers.

Shaggy hits rather loudly and looks a little too dazed to do much of anything to stop Red from going further, so it's up to Fred to stop it now. He swings at the bully and manages to nail him pretty hard in the face.

"Jones!" Red gasps as he staggers back into the opposite wall, hands now clutching his bloodied nose. "You'll pay for this!"

The rush of standing up to their tormentor temporarily quashes Fred's dislike for violence that doesn't take place on the controlled setting of a football field, and so he's grinning when he says, "You come after either of us again and we're going to Principal Grimes." They probably should do that now, really, especially since they're still on his good side after the whole Time Capsule incident from two months ago, but Fred is a little too focused on getting Shaggy out of there and making sure he's alright.

By the time they lock themselves inside of the car Shaggy borrowed from his mom, Fred is glad to see his friend looking a little more focused. "You okay there?"

"Yeah, just, like, knocked the wind out of me is all," he says, as he straightens himself out and starts the car. "What about you?"

"My hand is a little sore," he admits, but then Shaggy's grinning at him like crazy and maybe it hurts a little less.

"You… you punched him in the face," Shaggy laughs, apparently in a state of shock, and he's wearing the same sort of relieved look that was on his face the first time Fred sat with him on the bus. "I think that's the first time anyone has ever actually stopped him – aside from when Scooby bit him. And… uh oh. He's either going to kill us or never get near us again."

"Let's hope for the second option, then," Fred smirks and flips the radio to some station that plays music that they both like as Shaggy pulls off the school lot and toward Cleveland for the football game.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy!
> 
> This chapter deals with potentially triggering issues that go way beyond typical Scooby Doo levels of seriousness. What occurs in this chapter is a running theme throughout several other chapters and I'm just warning for that now. The idea for this came from Fred's comment of "I'm gonna have to run away from home," following his suspension in Mystery Begins and takes the reasoning behind it to extremes.

**Blue On Black / Johnny Lang**

Shaggy Rogers is no idiot.

Despite what people think of him, he is well aware of the world around him. Just because he prefers to spend his class-time napping, it doesn't mean he isn't smart.

And, yeah, he was held back those two times, he's not denying that. The first time was in 3rd grade and it really wasn't his fault – he was out most of the first semester sick and he just never caught up to everyone else. The second occurrence was 7th grade, and he's blaming that one on the teachers who'd chosen to single him out as an example; they thought he was cheating because he got decent grades despite his lazy attitude.

All in all, though, Shaggy is far more perceptive than people give him credit for.

Which is maybe why he is the only one who seems to spot Freddy's odd behavior when no one else does.

"Like, you okay, Fred?" He asks in gym class one day - one of two classes they have together this year.

Fred looks decidedly dead on his feet. He has for a while, really. Shaggy's pretty sure his new friend hasn't gotten a good night's sleep at all in the six weeks since school started again after Spring Break, at least judging by his zombie-like appearance. He's seen him fall asleep all over the place: at lunch, in class, even on the bus with his head leaned on Shaggy's shoulder.

"What?" Comes Fred's mumbled reply as they jog around the track on Coolsville High's back field. "Oh. Yeah, yeah. Shag, I'm good."

Shaggy isn't convinced. He's noticed other things that seem off about his friend. Freddy hasn't been eating much – at least not at lunch or when the gang hangs out (when he's awake, anyway) – and he made more mistakes than usual at his last practice.

On top of that, Fred can't seem to decide between avoiding the gang and clinging to them. Some days he blows their meetings off, other days he's finding reasons to keep them all together for extended periods of time.

But, it's not until today that it all started to make sense.

Since Fred and Shaggy have gym class together, they also share a locker room. Their lockers aren't in the same aisle because their last names aren't exactly close together, but Fred walks over to ask him about catching a ride home after practice and he's still tugging his gym shirt over his head when he calls Shaggy's name.

He turns in time to see a deep, purple bruise on Fred's chest. They haven't dealt with Red's more subtle methods of bullying or had any run-ins with masked bad guys for more than week, so there's no reason Shaggy can think of for why those bruises should look so fresh.

Before he can question the alarming marks, their Coach is calling them out to the track field.

He's unwilling to let the subject go unmentioned, but Fred is clearly intent upon it as he jogs ahead. Shaggy is fast, too, though and manages to catch up pretty quickly. "Hey, man," he says, opts for a different approach. "You wanna crash at my place tonight? We can watch that new mystery movie that just came out and I promise not to put any chocolate syrup on the popcorn this time."

Fred seems to consider his request for a brief moment before he offers a small smile. "Sure, Shag."

Shaggy grins his typical dopey grin. "Like, great. It'll be fun."

* * *

Basketball practice, which most of the team joins up for this during the football off-season, runs pretty late, so once Fred's done, Shaggy drives them back to his place in his Mom's Chevy – she's out of the country on business which is the only reason he's ever allowed to use it – and upon arrival, Fred monopolizes the use of Shaggy's bathroom to take a shower, and Shaggy and Scooby Doo spend that time preparing movie snacks.

By the time Freddy emerges, there's a rather impressive compilation of food. Shaggy has even managed to keep all of it normal and keep Scooby out of it. He's determined to get Fred to eat something.

"Jeez, Shag," Fred laughs, "And all you promised was popcorn."

Somehow, Shaggy manages to balance the array of foodstuffs and get it down to the basement. "Like, bon appétit," he grins and is pleased to see that Fred actually does eat something of substance. He tosses his canine compatriot a Scooby Snack to occupy him while Shaggy slips the DVD in.

But Shaggy can't seem to concentrate on the movie to save his life. While he typically has the attention span of a housefly, his brain is intently focused on other issues: What is wrong with Freddy? What about what he suspects is wrong with Freddy? And how can he help?

He's quiet all through the movie, which is fine because – as Shaggy suspected he would – Fred has fallen asleep. They're sitting together on Shaggy's new couch and so Fred's leaning on him again.

Fred's still asleep when the movie ends, and Shaggy's still thinking, so he switches his flat screen over to the MLE broadcast and zones out again.

Scooby, at some point, steals their barely touched popcorn bowl and acts like the canine garbage disposal that he is. Shaggy doesn't even notice it.

What is he supposed to do in a situation like this? Confront Fred? Skip confronting Fred and tell someone who can actually help? He doesn't even know if his suspicions hold any weight – Fred could have gotten hit at practice or something, he could have crashed his bike. But, neither of those things explains everything else quite as well as what he's thinking.

Shaggy's never really had friends before. He doesn't like seeing them hurt. And he especially doesn't like thinking that one of his friends – probably his best friend of the human variety - is being abused.

By the time Fred wakes up – rather, startles himself back into consciousness after what must be one hell of a bad nightmare – Shaggy knows what to do.

"You okay?" Shaggy questions.

"Fine, just a… weird dream, is all."

He doesn't believe that, but Shaggy lets it go. He gets to his feet and grabs his spare house-key from his desk drawer. "I, ugh, was thinking. And, like, you're over here a lot – more than the girls – and I figure I should just give you this." He tosses the silver key to Freddy who stares at him in confusion. "And let you know you can come over anytime, you don't need an invite from me, man. Anytime." He stresses the anytime, and he hopes the unsaid message of – seriously, anytime, I don't care if it's three in the morning, feel free to come over if you need someplace safe to stay – gets through somehow.

Scooby nods in agreement, "Reah, ranytime!"

A mix of what looks like fear and gratitude flashes across Fred's face and Shaggy isn't sure if he made the right call on dealing with this. So, in his momentary state of panic, he starts babbling. "Like, you know, if you ever want to talk or just hang out or stay up all night watching movies. Or mystery stuff, too, of course. There's the couch, and I have that futon, too, so it's really no problem if you ever need someplace safe to stay I just wanted you to know that-"

His near-hysterical rant ends when that mix of emotions turns to pure fear, like Fred has finally figured out just what Shaggy suspects. And he has to be right because there's no other reason why the words 'someplace safe' would cause that reaction. "I don't need you to protect me," he says, and then he's grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch and he's out the door. The silver key is sitting on the couch.

Shaggy drops his head into his hands, cursing his own failure. "That, like, didn't go quite the way I thought it would."

* * *

He doesn't see Fred for two days after that. Daphne and Velma don't either, and they're all worried about him. He's questioning whether he should tell them about what he thinks is going on, but something makes him keep the secret.

If they can't get in touch with Fred tomorrow, he'll tell them, he decides, but for now, he's just sitting in bed worrying over it.

Eventually, he falls asleep, only to be woken up a short while later when Scooby dives under the covers to escape some unseen terror.

"Scooby Doo, what's the matter with you?" Shaggy grumbles sleepily as he tries to extricate himself from the tangle of blankets and dog.

"Roises!" Scooby says, and one paw appears from under the covers to point at the door. "Routside, roises!"

Shaggy stares at the door, but doesn't hear anything. "Noises? There aren't any noises."

He stands corrected a few seconds later when a knock comes. If he weren't so tired and worried, he probably would have been scared, too.

"Shaggy?" Fred's voice follows another round of insistent knocking. "Shag? You awake?"

He pulls the door open and Freddy's standing there in a t-shirt and pajama pants. It is presently a rather chilly April night and something like 40 degrees, so this is rather bizarre behavior. "Like, yikes, man. Aren't you cold?"

Fred nods and Shaggy quickly steps aside to let the near-frozen boy into his warm basement. He grabs an oversized sweatshirt from off the corner of the sofa and tosses it to Fred who gratefully accepts. "Thanks."

"The gang was worried about you, you know."

Fred nods, claims the same seat on Shaggy's couch that he'd so abruptly abandoned the other night, and says, "Yeah, I know. I got the voicemails. And the emails. And the text messages. You guys are nothing if not persistent."

"So, are you, like," Shaggy starts, gesturing to Fred's general person, "okay?"

Fred shrugs and tries to pretend that bruises he's hiding aren't fresh and new and painful. "Depends," he says instead, "you still offering that key?"

Shaggy has it in Fred's hand within five seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy!
> 
> This chapter also counts as one of my hs_bingo prompts for class: home-ec.

Sugar Rush / A*Teens

Fred's free period before lunch is usually spent either studying or practicing. Today, it is being used as an attempt to track Shaggy down for information on their upcoming road-trip to Erie Point for their summer jobs.

"Alright, class," Mrs. Holmes, the home-ec teacher announces to her numerous students all grouped about and gathered near ovens. "Your final project dishes should be just about done now. You have five minutes to finish them up."

There are a couple of panicked whispers from some of the less impressive student-chefs, but Fred notices –as he lingers in the doorway waiting for the class to get out – that Shaggy is off on his own at a corner station, calmly leaning against a counter with his dish presumably already completed but nowhere to be seen.

"Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Jones?" The teacher says, and all eyes turn to focus on Fred. "Or perhaps you would like to assist me in taste-testing these undoubtedly delicious treats?"

Since it is before lunch, Fred's stomach gives an appreciative growl. He can always talk to Shaggy about the plans after school. "Ugh, sure."

"Nobody ever turns that offer down," Mrs. Holmes laughs as she ushers the school's star football and basketball player into the room. "We'll start with Amber's project," she announces, approaching the first table, now that the students have started finishing up their dishes. "Double chocolate chip cupcakes with white chocolate icing."

They both claim a cupcake and while it's a little overpowering on the chocolate levels, it's not half bad.

Next is Mark with an attempt at Key Lime Pie that somehow went horribly, horribly wrong.

Then, Kayla and Sam who worked together on a dish that sandwiched homemade ice-cream between impressive chocolate chip cookies made from scratch.

The various desserts rank sporadically as good and bad, and require varying amounts of bravery to test. At last, after a particularly dreadful try for S'mores cake, they come to Shaggy.

"Ah, Mr. Rogers," the teacher says, as Shaggy retrieves the chilling dessert from the nearby refrigerator, "you have likely outdone yourself again."

Fred isn't sure if he's surprised that Shaggy seems to be the favored student in the class – probably the only place where that's true, really. He wonders if he should be expecting something crazy and madly concocted, especially after the surprise ingredient in Scooby Snax was so casually announced. And, yeah, he knows Shaggy is entirely capable of making simple foods for movie nights, but this class seems like it goes beyond simple foods.

When Shaggy reveals a professional looking cake, he doesn't know what to think.

"It's, like, red velvet with peppermint cream cheese icing," he explains as he cuts a few generous slices, looking nervously at Fred like he's worried if he'll like it. "Personally, I would recommend adding some hot sauce, pickles, and pastrami to further appreciate the taste, but I'll, like, understand if you decline."

Mrs. Holmes gets to it first, and she doesn't seem to be suffering from any dog-food related aftertastes, so Fred tries it as well.

It is the best dessert in the room. It is quite possibly the best dessert he's ever had, for that matter. "It's awesome, Shag," Fred manages to articulate before he claiming another bite of the deliciously amazing cake. He attempts to further compliment the cake, but all that comes out is a jumble of incomprehensible mumbling because it's just that good.

Shaggy laughs and claims his own piece, grabbing his extra ingredients from the fridge, as well. He unrepentantly adds a few slices of pastrami, a collection of pickles and a liberal amount of hot sauce to the cake.

"Oh, Mr. Rogers, why must you ruin a perfectly amazing dessert with yet another of your wild creations?"

When the other boy frowns down at what he claims is a delicious masterpiece, Fred feels oddly defensive. "I'll try a bite of that, Shags, if you don't mind?"

The grin he gets in response is enough to keep him from regretting his offer. Shaggy offers him a forkful of the cake/icing/pastrami/pickle/hot sauce mixture and Fred warily stares at it for a moment before he can bring himself to actually get it into his mouth.

"You don't have to-" Shaggy tries, when he sees his friend delay.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Mr. Jones," the teacher warns, still distracted by her unsullied piece of cake.

That makes Fred give in, quickly devouring the bite sized blend of odd foods. It tastes a little weird at first, but it really isn't all that bad, he realizes, once he gets it down.

If Shaggy seemed anxious of his reaction before, he looks even more worried now. "If you don't like it, I understand. And, like, I have some soda in my bag if you want it…"

Fred moves his plate of regular cake closer to Shaggy's stranger supplies. "Can I have what you're having?" Whatever stomach ache it induces later will be worth it just for the look on Mrs. Holmes' face and the smile on Shaggy's.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy!
> 
> This chapter also counts as one of my hc_bingo prompts for drowning.

**Rescued / Emerson Drive**

After the lake monster incident, summer break goes pretty fast. Soon enough they're back at school and working Mystery Inc cases whenever they get the chance.

Once case in particular leads them out of Ohio and a couple dozen miles out into the Atlantic on a purportedly haunted boat over a long weekend.

Things do not go entirely smoothly. Actually, they end up going pretty horribly.

There's this moment when Shaggy is in the midst of the running away from the newest monsters of the week – a trio of presumably masked men posing as evil pirate ghosts or something – part of the mystery when he realizes something is seriously wrong.

He thinks Scooby is right on his heels and when he stops dead in his tracks, that theory is proven correct when the canine slams into him and knocks him down rather ungracefully.

"Rhat's rong?" Scooby hurriedly inquires, glancing around for whatever unseen danger Shaggy had managed to spot.

Shaggy isn't sure. He sees flashes of orange and purple clothing as Velma and Daphne run around the corner in front of him, so they're safe, but then where is Fred? "Go watch out for the girls," he says and takes off in the direction he came from despite the futile protests from Scooby Doo.

He's running back toward danger and terror and almost-certain death at the hands of the ghost of Blackbeard or Bluebeard or Whatever-Color-beard, but something makes him weigh that risk against the possibility of Fred being in danger and from there it's not much of a choice.

"Freddy!" He calls out as loudly as he dares when he can hear the maniacal laughter of the imposing trio of sea-dogs, while he ducks behind a stack of crates on the main deck. "Freddy! Where are you?"

Then there are screams and Shaggy isn't used to being the one to hear screaming – unless it's his own – and rescuing the person doing the screaming – again, usually himself – is not something that typical lands on his shoulders. But, this is Fred and Fred is clearly in danger if he's shouting like that and then Shaggy abandons his stealthy cover and rounds a corner to face what is probably the most terrifying sight he's ever seen.

It's Fred. And the pirates have him tied up and dangling over the edge of the boat in the middle of the ocean. And as he gets closer he hears things like 'sharks'll get him quick enough,' and 'won't be anything left of him for anyone to find,' and Fred sees him and his eyes blow wide and he shakes his head like he doesn't want to risk being rescued, but like hell if Shaggy is letting his best friend die when he can do something to stop it.

He doesn't have much time, but his mind forms a half-insane plan that just might be crazy enough to work if he can pull it off. There's a ladder that leads up the mast and he quickly, but quietly, climbs it, eyes on Freddy the whole time.

"Hey, scallywags!" He calls out as he manages to untie the fishing nets that have – for some unintelligible, but nonetheless, helpful reason – been secured along the mast. "Up here!" He releases the knots and the nets fall almost perfectly. One guy, the leader, of course, is just out of range.

The leader – Graybeard? Orangebeard? No – is moving toward Freddy before Shaggy can really grasp what is happening. As soon as he does figure it out, he's grabbing at another rope and sliding down and somehow he aims just on target enough to hit the pirate – Redbeard! Ha! That's it! – hard enough to send him flying down a staircase.

Unfortunately, he manages this impressively effective feat just nanoseconds after the ironically beardless Redbeard shoves Fred overboard.

His heart stops, just stops altogether, when he sees Fred dropping to the unforgiving ocean below , but then Shaggy is diving after him and he can see the spot where Freddy went under and somehow he hits pretty close to it. The water is chilly – as it is October – and rough and murky, but he spots the rapidly sinking mass of rope that is presently tied around Fred and how he manages to hold his breath long enough to get down to Fred and drag him back up to the surface he doesn't think he'll ever know.

The girls and Scooby Doo are leaning over the side of the boat when Shaggy forces his eyes into focus again upon surfacing. They're shouting instructions at him and lowering something down to sea-level and Shaggy never does figure out what it is that gets them back on deck and quite frankly he doesn't really care.

He's mostly running on pure adrenaline by that point and even though he's having trouble forcing air into his lungs, he's all focused on getting Fred untied and making sure he's alright. The ropes are wet and slick and damn near impossible to get off but somehow he manages to get them undone before Daphne and Velma appear at his side.

Fred isn't breathing though, so Daphne's giving him mouth to mouth and Shaggy is trying to get his hands to cooperate long enough for chest compressions but they're shaking and they just won't do what he wants so Velma pushes him aside and takes over. "The Coastguard's on the way," she tells him, just before his energy disappears and everything fades out.

* * *

When Shaggy is next aware of his surroundings, he's laid out on some sort of makeshift cot on another nicer, non-ghost crewed ship with his head in Fred's lap and Scooby Doo lying across his legs; they're both piled with blankets and in dry clothes now, too. Fred's awake and aware, he's glad to see and now if his head would just stop spinning, everything would be good.

"Like, you okay?" Shaggy manages to ask, wondering why it hurts his throat that much to talk.

Fred nods, kind of half-grins and tries not to think of pulling a hayloft because this is not the time or the place and he doesn't have the energy or the desire to be awkward right now. "Thanks to you," he says, instead, "the pirates are unmasked and under arrest. But don't do something stupid like that for me again, okay?"

Shaggy drifts out again before he can make such a promise. Maybe it's on purpose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy!

**Monsters / Matchbook Romance**

The four of them come sidling out of the movie theater at a leisurely pace one Saturday night just after Thanksgiving Break, Scooby Doo quickly joining them from wherever he'd hidden himself away.

"Well, I thought it was tasteless and needlessly gory," Daphne chastises the admittedly uninspired horror flick they'd all somehow agreed upon seeing. "Most of the budget for the movie probably went toward horrendously fake blood. It definitely didn't go toward the acting."

Fred laughs, but he can't exactly argue. "It wasn't supposed to be serious, Daph. Just one big slapstick bloodbath."

Velma shrugs, "I must admit that I was hoping for something a bit more intellectually stimulating…"

Shaggy, looking up from his leftover popcorn, adds in his own thoughtful comment, too: "Anyone else think they jipped us on popcorn butter?"

The girls laugh and declare that they are spending the rest of the evening on a shopping spree at the mall in preparation for the upcoming Snow Dance at the school. Fred's going with Daphne and Shaggy with Velma, but only because they'll all hang out together anyway.

"Like, see you girls tomorrow!" Shaggy calls after them as Scooby inhales the remaining contents of the popcorn bucket. "So, like, what do you wanna do, Freddy?"

"Rice ream!" Scooby Doo cuts in before Freddy can suggest something normal and productive like going to hang out at the library for monster research or running laps on the track at school.

Fred nods at the canine walking between them, "I could go for some ice cream."

* * *

Fred's working on a chocolate milkshake, Shaggy on a quadruple scoop peppermint-strawberry-pistachio-rockyroad cone complete with rainbow sprinkles when they leave the ice cream parlor a few blocks over. Scooby has already inhaled his own twisted and obscenely large concoction of delicious frozen treats.

People give them funny looks as they start heading toward Shaggy's place – their agreed upon destination for a round of video games – because it is December and they are devouring cold things and clearly they must be insane. They don't really care.

"So," Shaggy starts, broaching a subject he knows needs covering before they go on break. "Like, my parents will be in Europe for almost all of winter break. You could, you know, just stay at my place if you need to." His open invitation to crash at Shagwell Manor still stands, of course, and Fred's even taken him up on it a few times. But Fred's been tense lately and Shaggy is pretty sure it's because his father is coming home for an extended winter break of his own. The only reason he knows about any of that – or that Fred's father is behind the bruises – is because of a few moments of delirium following the Redbeard incident.

Fred just kind of sighs in response. "If I can get away, I'll be over as much as possible," he says, which is then amends with a sincere, "thanks, Shags."

Before Shaggy can say anything else about the issue they do not often talk about, a shadowy figure appears out of the darkness of some offshoot of the alley they'd cut through. "What the-" he starts, but he cuts himself off when he sees the metallic glint of a knife. "Zoinks!"

This is not their typical masked monster chasing them around a haunted house. Those had proven dangerous enough for them all following what had happened to Fred on Redbeard's ghost ship. But just because there isn't a mask doesn't mean it's not a monster facing them.

"Hnng, Freddy…" Shaggy stammers, just as the shadowy figure grabs at him, curling an arm around Shaggy and brandishing the blade perilously close to his captive's neck, and Shaggy's half-eaten ice cream falls to the ground.

Shaggy's best human friend stands unmoving, hands held in a placating I-mean-no-harm sort of gesture, while his best canine friend cowers, whimpering, behind Fred.

"Do what I say and we can all go about our business," the villain spits out, tightening his hold on his prisoner.

"Leave, Freddy," Shaggy says, voice shaking in terror. But he's not abandoning Shaggy. Ever.

Fred nods his head and waits for orders from the man with a knife to Shaggy's neck, mind spinning for ways to get them out of this.

"Wallets, phones, keys, watches, rings."

He's a little more than angry that this criminal is willing to risk Shaggy's life for a collective twenty seven dollars and fifty four cents – all the cash they have on hand between them – two driver's licenses, and the emergency credit card that Fred's dad insisted he carry. Shaggy never remembers to bring his cell phone with him, so only Fred's gets added to the pile and neither of them has anything but house keys because they walked over here – he doesn't bother adding those to the pile of objects being sacrificed. Fred normally has his high school ring and the watch that his grandfather gave him, but he's not wearing either today. Shaggy only has a silly comic book character watch, but he adds it to the pile all the same.

"That's all, really." Fred assures the man, but he doesn't look satisfied and this is all going to go bad if something doesn't change. "What else do you want? We don't have anything."

The shadowed man keeps his grip on Shaggy, but Fred had to get closer to retrieve his friend's wallet for the thief. He's still close and the only chance he has is to get them all away right now. He takes a deep breath and strikes, tossing the contents of the milkshake he is still somehow holding into the man's face and then pulling the knife-wielding arm away from Shaggy's throat.

"Damn it, kid!" The man curses, and blindly tries to swipe at either of them with the blade – which is at least more difficult with ice cream in his eyes. Shaggy pushes away, but he has to reach up to block the knife and it manages to catch him on the hand before he can grab Fred's arm and run, with Scooby Doo right behind them.

They run and run and run, nearly all the way back to Shaggy's place. They're not entirely sure it's a good idea, since the shadowed figure got their wallets and by default their addresses, but he doesn't have the keys so there is that working in their favor.

Once they are within the relative safety of Shaggy's basement, doubled over and panting for breath that adrenaline and panic is no longer supplying, they break into a sort of hysterical laughter.

"That," Shaggy starts, "that was, like," more laughing, "absolutely terrifying."

"It was," Fred agrees between his own broken laughter. "Almost more terrifying than last month on the boat."

Shaggy shakes his head in denial of that claim. "No, not even, like, anywhere close to that terrifying." Scooby nudges his arm, and mumbles a concerned, 'R'okay?' Blood is starting to streak down to his elbow and it's really the first time he remembers that he's been cut. It's then that he also remembers it kind of hurts. "Oh. Ouch."

Fred's next to him in seconds, carefully looking over the wound and then pulling Shaggy back to his feet and toward the basement bathroom.

"Look bad?" Shaggy asks, as Fred digs a pathetically stocked first aid kid out from under the sink.

"No, it's not that deep," he assures his friend, as he's seen more than enough injuries between sports and his father's attacks. The cut is across Shaggy's palm and doing anything with that hand for the next few days is going to be miserable but it could have been so much worse and Fred's being gentle about fixing it up so Shaggy really can't complain. Some quick clean up, some antibiotic ointment, and a bandage and it's done. "Finished."

"Like, thanks, man," Shaggy says, "For, you know, everything." He does something unexpected as they return to the main room of the basement, pulling Fred into a close hug that probably lasts longer than it rightly should. "Let's, like, not get in anymore terrifying situations for a while, yeah?"

"Sounds good," Fred responds as the embrace finally ends. "Now, I vote we go report our stolen wallets to the police, and then hide out down here for a while."

"Rood idea," Scooby puts in and Shaggy is disinclined to argue.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy! Reviews are awesome and very much appreciated!

**Say Anything (Else) / Cartel**

"Mr. Rogers," the unmerciful history teacher calls out, singling out his least favorite student in the class, "are you prepared for your Civil War presentation?"

Shaggy swallows hard and looks around the room at his classmates, none of whom he counts among his friends and all of whom are probably expecting a negative response. "Like, I do, Mr. Vespucci, but I left it in my locker. Would it be cool if I, like, went to get it quick?"

The teacher, while surprised that Shaggy seems to have done his homework at all, sighs and waves him out of the room. "Quickly," he stresses.

He is up and out of the room in seconds. Down the next hallway and he's leaning back against the lockers and willing himself not to start hyperventilating or something. For as much as he really doesn't care what people think about him, he really hates public speaking. "Now I remember why I never do these assignments…"

"Shags?" Fred's concerned voice comes from the other end of the hall, Daphne's a few feet behind him. He figures they're coming back from volunteering to help set up the gym for the Snow Dance. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah," Daphne echoes, "you look a little… green."

"I, like, have a presentation to do in history and…"

"And you forgot it?" Daphne guesses. Usually she'd be right.

He pulls open his locker and retrieves the folded up poster-board, "No, I actually did bring it, but, like, I… I don't exactly like giving presentations and I'm, like, kind of nervous?"

Daphne's attention zeroes in on his dilemma. It probably was not a good idea to admit to stage fright in front of the President of the Drama Club. "Oh, well then. That's easy enough – you just have to focus on what you have to do, try not to look at your notes too much, and don't fidget," she grabs his hand, where it's absently tugging at his shirt, "and don't mumble or slouch or add in too many of your 'like's."

Suddenly overwhelmed by the overdose of advice that mostly contradicts his entire persona, he's even more nervous than before. He feels dizzy and right now bailing on the project and going to the nurse sounds like a pretty good game plan.

"Whoa," Fred says, catching and steadying his friend when he starts to sway alarmingly, "easy there, buddy. Daph, I'll catch up to you later, I'm gonna try something different."

"You can do it, Shaggy," she says, and she leaves them to it.

"Shag, listen to me, okay? Forget what she said," Fred tries, as he settles calming hands on Shaggy's shoulders and forces the older boy to focus, "Tell me what your presentation is about."

"Uh," he starts, "we're talking about the Civil War and we each have to do a different battle. Mine's Antietam – figures I'd, like, end up with one of the important ones."

Fred nods, "Okay, and you just have to describe the battle and who was involved and stuff, right?" Shaggy nods, "If I asked you to tell me about it, right now, could you?"

"Well, yeah, but that isn't going to make me pass this class," he says, rather confused as to where Fred is going with this. "You're, like, a lot easier to talk to than a class full of people who think I'm an idiot."

Fred grabs up the poster-board and steers Shaggy back toward the classroom, "I have a plan."

Shaggy can't help but laugh, "Of course you do."

"Just give your presentation, everything'll be cool. I promise."

While not entirely sure how that is a plan to keep him from having a panic attack in front of the entire class, Shaggy takes Fred's word for it and slips back into the room.

"That was not terribly hasty, Mr. Rogers," Mr. Vespucci complains, sitting at the desk angled toward the front of the room because of the presentations.

"Like, s-sorry," Shaggy says, moving to set up his board. His notes shake in his hand as he turns to face the class. Eyes closed, he takes a deep breath before he begins. "The Battle of Antietam took place on…" He fumbles over his words, looks down at his notes and can't make himself look away, "September 17, 1862. It, ugh, was…" he looks up again, at the disgruntled sigh from his teacher and his eyes scan the room of bored on-lookers.

Something catches his eye in the back of the classroom, though. Fred's sitting there at Shaggy's desk, which earns some odd glances form the people around him, but Shaggy doesn't care because Fred's signaling for him to keep going.

With a grin, his hands stop shaking and he continues, "Also known as the Battle at Sharpsburg, there were three main confrontations throughout the day: one at Miller's cornfield, another at the Sunken Road, and the final one at what would later be called Burnside's Bridge." From there, he continues on without issue, detailing the basics of each skirmish, the General's involved in each, the staggering number of men lost, and the flaws in some of the battle plans. Shaggy really had done the work on this one, no one could deny that.

He sees Fred slip out just seconds after he's finished the speech, before Mr. Vespucci can turn around and notice him there, but then the teacher is congratulating him on his work and that's never really happened before.

He finds a folded up sheet of paper on his desk when he is allowed to return to it. 'Awesome job, Shags,' is all it says, but he spends the rest of the day grinning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy! Reviews are awesome and very much appreciated!
> 
> This chapter kicks off the romance-y aspect of the fic, so consider yourselves warned for that. Also counts as one of my schmoop_bingo prompts: making out.

**No Matter What / Ronan Keating  
**

The winter formal, creatively dubbed the Snow Dance by the school system, is held the last night before their break begins. Pretty much everyone is in attendance and that includes the Mystery Inc gang – sans Scooby Doo, who's occupying himself by playing in the snow outside.

They arrive in the Mystery Machine, Shaggy's outrageous outfit somehow compliments Velma's dress and Fred's does the same for Daphne's. They all have free passes to dance with whoever they want because they're not actually together, so after they get through the initial round of friendly greetings to other party guests, everyone but Shaggy takes off dancing. Even Velma's got a dance partner, some guy she runs into from the science club who loses his glasses about as often as she does.

Shaggy sips punch on the sidelines staring up at the bleachers which have been liberally decorated in shimmering silver snowflakes and sparkling white and blue streamers.

"Not dancing, Shaggy?" Daphne asks him, when she and Fred return after a few songs. She ignores his non-committal shrug and pulls him out to the dance floor for a couple of songs, and he gets a dance with Velma, too, while her science club guy is taking a break. Fred dances with a few of the girls from the cheerleading squad, mostly because he's kind of obligated to, with his position of starting quarterback.

But, then the music switches from a fast-paced techno song to something slower and everyone pairs off. Velma returns to her previous dance partner, Fred and Daphne move together, just so they can stay on the floor, and some random girl taps Shaggy on the shoulder.

"Like, hi," he says, with an awkward smile.

"Hey," she says, and then they're dancing together, too. "My name's Crystal," she says, once they've gotten through the first few beats without anyone stepping on toes. "You're Shaggy, right?"

He nods, "Yup, that'd be me," he nervously replies. "You're… in my history class, aren't you?"

"I am," Crystal replies, looking flattered to be recognized, "Your project on Sharpsburg was pretty impressive. To be honest, I kind of thought you were a bit of a slacker up until then."

He laughs, can't really take offense to it since he really didn't care about his grades up until it meant being held back while the rest of the gang moved on. "I did, too," he says instead.

Shaggy doesn't notice that Fred's watching him during this exchange, though.

* * *

"Hello? Earth to Fred?" Daphne sighs, trying to regain his wandering attention. "You're not being very subtle, you know. At least you remain as transparently jealous now as you were with me over summer."

Fred's mouth opens and closes a few times as he tries to think of a way to deny what she's claiming, "What are you talking about? I don't have anything to be jealous about; you know I'm not dating anyone."

She laughs, "Please, you've been looking at him like that since before he saved you from drowning, so I know it's not another hayloft thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Daph."

"Fine, don't tell him. But I happen to know Crystal has a major crush on him, so if you're okay with seeing him with her then I guess that's that." She shrugs and lets her arms drop from Fred's shoulders as the song ends. "For the record, he looks at you the same way." She walks away mumbling about stupid boys and missed opportunities.

Fred considers the situation carefully, and then follows Shaggy and Crystal off the dance floor.

* * *

"So, like, you're really into the Civil War, huh?" Shaggy asks, as he grabs two cups of punch from the snack table, and offers one to Crystal.

She nods and sips at the drink, looking about as nervous as he felt doing that presentation – at least before he'd noticed Fred. "I think it's pretty interesting," she admits, "is that weird?"

"No, not at all," he answers. After all, he hunts crazy people dressed in costumes who have almost caused he and his friends serious harm, he certainly can't talk about weird.

Crystal smiles and then she's biting her lip and looking even more nervous. Her nervousness is putting Shaggy on edge. "So, ugh, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to-"

Her question is cut off when Fred appears from nowhere. "Hey, Shags," he says, a hand landing on Shaggy's shoulder of its own volition – which Shaggy seems to lean into about as instinctively. And yeah, he knows what he interrupted, but then that was the point. He only feels a little bit like a jerk for cutting her off. "You mind if we go outside? I, ugh, need to talk to you about something important."

Shaggy immediately thinks of Freddy's precarious relationship with his father – who arrived home last night – and so he's nodding and letting Fred drag him away before any other alternatives can really cross his mind.

He's not sure where to go to keep from being overheard. Nowhere inside is safe, and just stepping outside might not work, either. He settles for pulling Shaggy into the back of the Mystery Machine. "Sorry I interrupted your conversation with Crystal," he says.

"Like, no problem, man," Shaggy assures him, "what's going on?"

Fred has no idea what to say. He might've thought about it, yeah, but everything he'd thought about even possibly saying has abandoned his brain and left him in the lurch. He sighs and decides to just talk. "You know how you and Velma didn't really have any chemistry?" He gets an awkward and somewhat suspicious nod in response. "Well, neither did Daphne and I, really. I mean, after the whole hayloft thing, we kind of worked and I just figured that's what I was supposed to do. But, we all saw how that worked out."

Shaggy just looks bafflingly confused. "Why are you telling me this? Is it a warning because I was talking to Crystal? Cause, like, I'm really not interested in dating her and even if I was I don't think the whole hayloft factor comes into play…"

He tries and fails to hide the sigh of relief at hearing that. "Good to know, but no. This isn't about her. Not really."

"Alright," Shaggy says, "then, like, what is it about?"

Just say it, he thinks, tell him. His mind fabricates this big, long speech that details the reasons why this is a phenomenally stupid idea and there's another, much longer, list that details why it is a phenomenally amazing idea, but what he actually ends up ineloquently blurting out is: "I like you."

It's short and to the point. Maybe too short and maybe too to the point, because Shaggy's just kind of blankly staring at him.

"Shags?"

"Like, you like me?" He says the words as if they are a completely foreign concept to him, as if it's impossible that someone could possibly be saying that to him.

"I like you. A lot." Fred emphasizes. If he thought it would help, and not terrify Shaggy into running, he'd probably admit to more, but he's not risking this by pushing too far too fast.

Shaggy starts laughing then, and Fred isn't entirely sure that he didn't break something of importance in his friend's head with his admission, but then he's talking and the laughing makes a little more sense. "You know, Crystal was sitting in front of you when I did that presentation. She noticed that I was grinning like an idiot the whole time, and I guess it looked like I was smiling at her and not because you were there."

Fred's hand lands on Shaggy's, "does that mean you like me, too?"

Shaggy nods and notices that they've shifted a lot closer to each other in the dim lighting of the van. "I, like, kind of really want to kiss you right now, but what if there's nothing there, either?"

"That is not even possible," Fred responds, as he lets his hand curl around the back of Shaggy's neck. "And I'll prove it to you." With that, he's closing the last few inches between them, pressing his lips against Shaggy's in what is meant to be a short kiss. Stars and fireworks and other clichéd sayings explode between them, and it quickly becomes a very long kiss because neither of them can actually seem to break it, up until the point that air becomes an undeniably crucial necessity.

Fred starts to say something that might be, "Told you so, Shags," but now that they've both caught their breath, Shaggy kisses him again and he just kind of mumbles it against Shaggy's mouth instead. More involved and a little less hesitant this time, lips and tongue and teeth mash together in less than gentle movements spurred on by unfounded levels of chemistry. When that one ends, Fred stays leaned in, forehead pressed against Shaggy's with his hand still buried in purposefully messy brown hair.

Shaggy's kind of half-smiling at him in utter disbelief and Fred is only a little surprised when he says something like, "Why would you wanna be with me, anyway?" when his nerves get the best of him. He's wearing the same self-deprecating look that had appeared on his face after Velma originally shot him down for their date, and then there's a full on panicked look, "Is this one of those casual things you were talking about over summer? Just, like, hanging out?"

Fred is quick to squash that idea. "This is in no way casual for me, I swear, Shags. I'm completely serious about this, have been for a while, I just… didn't know how to tell you." He adds in another quick kiss for good measure and it's kind of ridiculous how much different it is kissing him than it had been kissing Daphne, how much better they fit together. "And as for why I want to be with you, I'm not even going to dignify something that ridiculous with an answer – why wouldn't I want to be with you?"

There's a lot more kissing after that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy! Reviews are awesome and very much appreciated!
> 
> This chapter counts as one of my hs_bingo prompts: injury/illness.

**Before It's Too Late / Goo Goo Dolls**

There isn't a whole lot that changes with the shift from Shaggy being Fred's best friend to being Fred's boyfriend. Fred's a very tactile person in general, so there have always been casual touches – hell, Fred touches everyone – but now there are a lot more of them, and they tend to linger, too.

They don't tell anybody – outside of Daphne, who already figured it out anyway, the second she saw them after the Snow Dance, and Velma, because there's no hiding things from her, and they don't have to tell Scooby Doo because he figured it out long before the two of them had even considered it – at school because they mutually agree that Red and his fellow Neanderthals would not be able to resist acting on such information with violent abandon.

They even still split up the same way during Mystery Inc hunts just because that's how it's always been, with only the rare exception or alteration.

The only thing that's really different now is that there's a significant amount of making out done in between video game levels or during the boring parts of movies when Fred crashes at Shaggy's place.

Things are good and stable for a while, up until the Championship football game in early February. The Coolsville Cougars make it for the third year in a row and since this is Fred's senior year (the rest of the gang's, too, for that matter) he really wants to win this one.

The team they're playing, the Tigers, almost beat them last year so the rivalry's pretty intense. It doesn't help that they aren't playing at Coolsville, and the fact that the game is scheduled obnoxiously late in the post-season - and therefore it's freezing and snowing - doesn't make anything better, either.

The rest of the gang meets Fred before the game, because of course they're there supporting him. Shaggy hasn't missed a game since they became friends, and one or both of the girls are usually with him. Scooby Doo typically comes along, too, staying in the Mystery Machine and enjoying the snacks Shaggy brings him at halftime.

"So do you think the odds are in your favor in emerging victorious?" Velma inquires as they all relax with hot chocolate and coffee around their loyal vehicle. "The opposing team seems quite… intimidating."

Fred sighs, leaning against the back of the van with Shaggy sitting on the bumper right next to him. "If we all work together on this, we have a good chance, but Red's been slacking on his defense and if he does that here, we're in trouble."

"Well, hopefully winning the Championship will be more important to him than messing with you, at least for today," Daphne attempts to dissuade the pre-game anxiety.

Shaggy's seen those practices, though. Red not doing his job means Fred gets tackled full force before he can do anything to get rid of the ball. The bruises he has afterwards make the ones his Dad gives him look tame by comparison. "You, like, don't think he'll do that, do you?"

"I have no idea what's going on in Red's head. Like Daph said, hopefully he won't risk it in an actual game."

"Re rareful," Scooby puts in, munching happily on a Scooby snack.

Fred smiles, "I will, Scoob." A glance at his watch tells him he should be getting back to the locker room and he tells the gang as much. The girls walk a ways away, leaving the boys to exchange a few quick kisses in the back of the van before Shaggy joins them and Fred takes off jogging toward another door.

* * *

By the end of third quarter, the Cougars are up 24 to 10. Red hasn't tried any of his tricks, they're all glad to see, but Shaggy won't stop worrying until it's over.

He grins when he sees Fred send a wave his way as he walks back onto the snowy field for the start of the fourth. The play starts and goes smoothly; the ball gets to the opposing team's thirty yard line before the guy running it gets tackled. They line up again and Shaggy's eyes are trained on Fred, number nineteen, when the ball snaps.

But, that is exactly when Red opts to pull his stunt, and since he's not protecting Fred from the right tackle and Fred isn't really expecting the betrayal, the guy hits him hard.

There's a collective gasp around the stands as the impact sends Fred to the ground and Shaggy's just holding his breath and waiting for him to get up. When a few seconds pass and he's not on his feet, he's scanning for the quickest way to get to him. When the team doctor gets to Freddy and then calls in for help, Shaggy's moving - but then he's not.

"Like, let go of me," he snaps at Velma and Daphne, who are effectively holding him back. "I'm going down there."

"If you go down there then Red will figure it out and it'll be that much worse for the rest of the school year, Shag." Daphne warns him.

Shaggy shakes his head and makes another attempt, "Like, you don't think he already has an idea – he pulled that stunt right after Freddy looked up here."

Velma assures him that, "We'll all go down in a few minutes if he's not up by then, okay?"

Reluctantly, he nods his agreement, even though every part of him is screaming to go to Fred."Fine."

* * *

Another player goes in for Fred, and they pull Red, too, because the coaches are not idiots and they know what happened even if they don't know why.

The announcer reports that number nineteen won't be finishing the game and that's when Shaggy is up and out of the stands. Daphne and Velma are on his heels and they make it outside within a few moments – hoping to linger by the player's entrance until they can get in or otherwise find out information. What they find, however, is an ambulance getting ready to leave.

Shaggy tries to detour toward it, but the girls drag him to the Mystery Machine instead. "C'mon, Shag, we'll follow them to the hospital."

* * *

Upon arrival to the hospital, the three of them are exiled to the ER waiting room. The doctor calls Fred's father in because Fred is seventeen and this is really the first time Shaggy has ever seen the guy. He makes a note to press a little harder on the issue of convincing Fred to put a stop to what's happening at home because his dad looks deceptively innocent of his crimes – just like a bad guy in a mask.

Mr. Jones doesn't stay any longer than the time it takes to sign the required paperwork and he doesn't even stop to check in on Fred while doing it. While Shaggy is further alarmed by the man's appalling parental behavior – though he supposes he shouldn't be all that surprised given what he does know – it does mean that they are allowed in to see him that much sooner.

Fred's holding his arm steady against his chest when they come into his room in the ER. His football attire is all piled up on a nearby chair so he's shirtless and some pretty painful looking bruises are forming over the ones from last practice.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaims as he takes in the wide array of bruises.

"Looks worse than it is, guys," Fred says, before they can jump to any extreme conclusions, "just a broken collar bone."

Another doctor comes in before any of them can comment on that. She asks them to leave, but Fred requests they stay and somehow he wins the argument – probably, Shaggy thinks, because they know his dad raced out of here.

"I'm going to try to bend your elbow without moving your shoulder, okay?" She warns, and carefully does that. Fred reports no pain there, other than a lingering soreness that typically comes with being tackled by someone colliding with you at full speed, and reports the same on wrist and fingers. "Alright, then," she says grabbing up a syringe from a nearby locked drawer. "This is an anesthetic, once it kicks in you should be pretty numb." He nods and she swabs his shoulder with antiseptic before administering the drug and Shaggy can't look because Fred is cringing and he hates needles to begin with. "It should kick into full effect in about five minutes." With that done, she leaves.

"I can't believe Red did that!" Daphne announces in disgust. "Not only did he risk the game, you could have been hurt a lot worse than that."

Fred sits up a little straighter and seems to relax a little when Shaggy perches on the edge of the hospital bed. "Coach wasn't happy about it either. He cut Red from the team on the spot and said Grimes would probably have him suspended for what he did."

Velma scoffs, "At least some justice was done."

"Thanks for coming guys," he says as a nurse pops in to set him up with a sling for his now well-numbed arm, "It would've sucked being stuck here alone." The second that the injured arm is supported by the sling and not Fred's good hand, Shaggy's catching it in his own.

"We, ugh," Daphne starts, grabbing Velma's arm and pulling her toward the door because the guys probably want some time alone, "We're going to go get a few sodas from the cafeteria, we'll bring you back something."

Once they're alone, Shaggy leans forward enough to quickly press his lips against Fred's, careful to avoid touching or otherwise jostling his boyfriend's bad shoulder. "I'm, like, really glad you're okay."

"Mm, me, too. I don't want to be in here any longer than I need to be. I kind of hate hospitals," Fred admits.

Shaggy already gets why – Fred's mom passed away a couple of years ago, back when they were all not-friends and in middle school. Most everyone had seen Fred Jones break down at school sometime either before or after her death. "I know," he says, offering a reassuring squeeze of his hand. "We'll all be here until you can leave."

Fred eyes the door briefly, "is it cool if I stay with you tonight? My Dad was here and he didn't even stop to make sure I was alright," he scoffs, "He'll probably be pissed at me for dragging him all the way out here, anyway."

"Yeah, we saw him race out of here earlier. I guess he doesn't like hospitals much, either," Shaggy replies. And he's trying very, very hard not to ask Fred to tell someone who can help about his Dad – that conversation can wait until he's feeling a little better. "And you know you can stay, Freddy."

"You're the best, Shags," Fred smiles.

"Knock knock," Daphne calls as she and Velma appear at the door again, a couple of cans of soda in hand. "We, ugh, called the coach, Fred, if you want to know the final score?" At his nod, she and Velma explain the outcome of the game – it got close up until the very end of the fourth, with the Tiger's tying it up 24-24, but then the Cougars had made a last ditch attempt and gotten a touchdown, making the score 31-24 and landing them a win. "The Coach and the rest of your team hope you're okay, too."

Fred smiles at Shaggy and says something like "I'm getting there."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy! Reviews are awesome and very much appreciated!

**Dog Days Are Over / Florence & The Machine**

Shaggy is passed out cold on the floor in Fred's bedroom, using Scooby Doo as a pillow, when the door slams open at something like one in the morning. He startles awake in time to see Daphne and Velma jump in surprise as well.

Fred just looks mortified.

They'd all been discussing their last Mystery Inc case – a wild ape-man ruining the filming on Daphne's Uncle's movie set – and it had started hailing on the walk back from school so they'd stopped at the closest place, which happened to be Fred's.

His dad hadn't been home when they'd arrived, or when they'd hunkered down in Fred's room with some pizzas and sodas and movies. That had been hours ago now.

Fred's father, obviously drunk out of his skull and looking less than thrilled to see the array of company presently scattered around his son's room, staggers forward.

"Get out of here, all of you." His voice is oddly even and clear, despite his intoxication and that just makes him seem all the more threatening. When none of them movie, Mr. Jones adds in a sharp, "Now!"

"Dad, it's no big deal. We were just-" Fred tries to placate his father's anger, but it isn't working.

Velma and Daphne are standing now, lingering in the doorway like they want to stay. Shaggy's in the process of dragging himself off the floor, but he has no intention of leaving and Scooby hovers awkwardly between the girls and the boys.

"What are you kids waiting for, an engraved invitation? Get lost already."

"It's… it's okay gang," Fred says, though his face says anything but that, "just go. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

The girls reluctantly back away from the confusing scene before them. Shaggy won't be so easily persuaded.

"Really, Shags, go." Fred emphasizes when the other boy fails to leave.

"Like, not a chance," Shaggy responds, moving to stand beside Freddy. It's been months now since he and Fred got together and in that time, he's gotten the stories out of his best friend concerning his father's drunken attacks. There hasn't been one for a while, but that's only because Fred can usually get out and over to Shaggy's before anything gets too bad. No way is he letting it happen when he can stop it.

Mr. Jones doesn't seem terribly put off by Shaggy's alliance with his son. "Frederick…" the man's voice rumbles with displeasure and he glowers at the gaggle of lingering teenagers. His hand snaps out and curls around Fred's bad arm.

Fred winces and gasps in surprise as his father twists his arm, and Shaggy knows it is an absolutely ridiculous reaction on his part because Fred can take care of himself, but he's the one shoving Fred's dad back and then Scooby is between them, growling rather ferociously.

"C'mon, Fred," Shaggy says, nudging the other boy toward the door. "We're leaving."

* * *

They're all thoroughly soaked through by the time they get back to Shaggy's place. The trip involved cutting through the woods to make sure Mr. Jones didn't follow them and that made the walk take twice as long and that meant twice as long spent in the snowy, haily, windy and wet downpour.

"Okay," Daphne sighs, "would someone mind telling me what that was all about?"

Fred tenses. So does Shaggy – he knows Fred doesn't like talking about it.

"I sense that tonight was not the first violent laying on of hands?" Velma perceptively deduces. "This has been going on for a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Fred reluctantly admits, mostly because Shaggy has gone to fetch them some towels and dry clothes. "Shaggy figured it out after Spring Break last year. Usually I stay here when it gets bad."

"You could have told us about it, Freddy," Velma says, "we would have tried to help."

"There wasn't anything else to do. It's going to suck when I go back, though."

Shaggy returns with an armful of supplies that he abruptly drops onto the bed upon hearing Fred's comment. Then he's crossing the room to hover in front of his boyfriend, "Like, are you crazy? You're not going back there. You're staying here. With me."

Fred shakes his head. "I can't ask you to do that, Shag."

"You're not asking, I'm offering," the older boy argues. "We'll talk to my parents in the morning, like, tell them everything. They'll be cool about it."

Fred smiles and catches him in a careful, but very wet, hug. "Thanks, Shags. What would I do without you?"

The girls 'aww' in response and the boys quickly separate.

* * *

Fred wakes up to an unfamiliar weight pressed lightly against his side. At first he has no idea what it is, but he finds himself strangely relaxed by its presence. He shifts a little closer to his unknown bedmate and sighs in something like contentment without bothering to open his eyes.

Shifting makes his shoulder hurt, though, so he reconsiders, rolling back toward the folded up sweatshirt situated under his shoulder to cushion it. The mysterious weight follows him back though, and then there is a hand settling on his stomach, and fingers slipping under the edge of his borrowed t-shirt to trace random patterns on his skin.

"Mm, Shags?" He mumbles out sleepily – because, really, who else would he be curled up like this with? – as he cracks one eye open enough to take a quick look. He smiles when he sees Shaggy still mostly unconscious and he figures they can both do with some more sleep before they have to talk to Shaggy's parents about everything.

The girls are passed out on the sofa and the futon – hence why Fred is curled up in Shaggy's bed (he could certainly get used to waking up with him, though) – and Scooby is sprawled out across his and Shaggy's feet. Everything is awesomely comfortable.

He thinks things might actually be okay for the first time in a long while.

* * *

The conversation between Fred and Shaggy and Mr. and Mrs. Rogers goes surprisingly smoothly.

While it obviously entails telling them about Fred's abusive father, they also end up admitting to their rather secretive relationship in the process.

Shaggy's nineteen and Fred is seventeen so there isn't really anything that their parents can do about their relationship even if they seemed inclined to interfere, but it's still nerve-wracking to tell them about it. They take it in stride though, and thankfully seem more focused on the other, more serious, aspect of discussion.

"Of course he can stay here," Shaggy's father declares. He pushes even more insistently upon discovering that Fred's father is really his only living relative – no living grandparents, no aunts, uncles, cousins, nothing.

His mother adds in that, "We will have to get the police involved, though, and I don't want any arguments about that, either."

As high-profile lawyers, they probably should have figured that would be a condition of his parents agreement. "We'll go over later and get your things, Fred."

"See?" Shaggy says, settling a hand on Fred's good shoulder, "I told you you're, like, always welcome here."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing slash for Scooby-Doo. I'm weird. I know. On that note, you have been warned. And, while reviews are awesome, flames will not be tolerated – they will be deleted. Original characters are mine, but everyone else belongs to Hanna-Barbera. It is set in the Mystery Begins/Curse of the Lake Monster!Verse, but does occasionally reference mysteries from Where Are You!, some references to Pup Named Scooby Doo via Red Herring, and one to Alien Invaders later on. This was also a ten-song challenge thing (that I totally cheated on) and so there'll be song names at the beginning of each chapter, too. Enjoy! Reviews are awesome and very much appreciated!
> 
> This was supposed to be the last chapter, but you know what? I lied. There are 11. The last chapter will be a continuation of this chapter because the boys were demanding a happier ending than this one. And after all the stuff I threw at them, they kind of deserved it. So. Yeah. It will be posted as 'Courage: A Reprise', because the rating will be higher and I don't want to have to up the rating here (fanfiction.net) for just that chapter. If you don't intend to read that, then thanks for sticking around and reading, and especially to those who reviewed! It is very much appreciated.
> 
> Also counts as a response to hs_bingo prompt of prom night.

**Courage / Orianthi**

As graduating students, the Mystery Inc gang is understandably invested in attending their Senior Prom. Velma is going with Derek, the boy from her science club, and Daphne with a fellow drama geek, Calvin. While Fred and Shaggy do not technically have dates, they're kind of going together.

However, there is one rather large obstacle in the face of enjoying what is sure to be an interesting night: The Mystery Machine runs out of gas.

They'd spent close to three hours stranded on some back road of a short-cut that had been meant to get them un-lost after Scooby Doo spilled some unidentifiable foodstuff all over the map, and there was no cell phone signal. There had been an impressive mansion just down the road, but it turned out to be housing a Headless Specter that was determined to keep them from getting out of there.

It hadn't helped that most of their little group proved utterly incapable of walking away from an unsolved mystery, so Fred and Velma convinced Shaggy and Daphne to stick it out long enough to unmask the bad guy.

The process of solving the mystery involved a lot of running around, some dark and dusty rooms, a shallow well, and a few odd clues. Eventually, Shaggy and Scooby manage to accidentally capture the creeping creeper and Fred does the unmasking, revealing the owner of the house, Mr. Stillwall, who really isn't a bad guy after all. From there, they have to catch the actual bad guy, a less than friendly neighbor looking for a missing inheritance. The gang, being the apparent overachievers that they are, manages to find that, too and Mr. Stillwall gives them a generous reward for their help in addition to some gas to get them back on the road.

They're in a little less than perfect condition when they arrive, and kind of tired, but they're not letting the night go to waste. As it is, they've missed about half of the main party.

Velma and Daphne's dates are quite worried and a little annoyed by the delay, but both girls promise impressive make-up dates with their share of the unexpected reward money, so things get smoothed over pretty easily. They're off on the dance-floor in no time.

Fred and Shaggy, left on the sidelines, opt to take a few minutes to relax after their unexpected adventure. They grab sodas from the bar and then claim a few open seats.

"Next time, I vote we take the short-cut that doesn't go past the haunted mansion," Shaggy says, as he sprawls out in the chair. "That was exhausting."

"I'll make it up to you later," Fred smirks, "if you're not too tired to enjoy our hotel room, that is." The Prom is being held in the ballroom of some fancy hotel about three hours away from home. It's not an unmanageable drive, but after their excitement earlier, Fred's glad that they all decided to stay here for the night anyway.

Fred and Shaggy have their own room booked and even though they haven't gotten very far thus far in their relationship, the plans are to change that tonight.

The flush that colors Shaggy's face assures Fred that his boyfriend is looking forward to it as much as he is. Maybe he's just as nervous, too.

"I'll definitely, like, be awake for that," Shaggy says quietly and Fred somehow resists the urge to suggest bailing on the party right now and heading upstairs.

Daphne appears then, just as Fred is reconsidering the merits of that idea. "Come dance, guys," She says, grabbing Fred's hand and pulling him to his feet.

"You coming, Shags?" Fred calls back, but Shaggy says that he'll be over in a minute, as soon as he finishes his drink.

He's not alone for more than thirty seconds before someone is hovering in front of him. He cautiously looks up – always a chance it could be one of his many bullies – and is surprised to see Crystal. "Hey," he says, somewhat awkwardly.

Since he started dating Fred, he's gotten better at spotting when people are interested or flirting. Not only from his own personal experiences with Fred, but also from the girls he's noticed trying to get Fred's attention. It also helps that Daphne told him about Crystal's crush on him. At least he's not entirely oblivious this time.

"Hi. So, ugh, do you maybe want to dance?" She proposes, looking between him and the dance floor anxiously. "I mean, if you don't want to, I understand…"

Shaggy doesn't know what to do. It's not like he can dance with Fred since they agreed that outing themselves right now might not be the best idea on the planet. And Velma's off with Derek, so his usual dance partner isn't available, either.

Reluctantly, he nods his agreement and gets to his feet. Fred knows he's not interested in her; it shouldn't be a big deal. "Just one, though. We, like, got lost on the way here and ended up running around some mansion out in Nowheresville for hours." He makes the mistake of mentioning the Civil War diary that gave them the clue to find the treasure, though, which is very bad because his Civil War knowledge has abandoned his brain now that finals are over. She's asking questions that he doesn't have the answer to before he can even add in, "So we're all pretty exhausted," which only makes him feel more tired.

"It's sweet that you remembered I'm into the Civil War. It's been a while since we talked," Crystal says, once it's clear he knows pretty much nothing about the diary. He's not sure why she expected him to forget that, though – she talked about it enough, and the shift in his relationship with Fred that night had certainly stuck the events of the Snow Dance firmly in his brain. Then they're finally moving to the dance floor, which is all well and good, but she tries to grab his hand for purposes that don't involve weaving through the crowd of students and even if he is dubiously okay with the dancing, he's not okay with more than that. He manages to avoid the awkwardness by moving to absently scratch at his neck like he didn't actually notice her move.

Once they get to a spot that isn't too crowded, he notices Fred and Daphne a few yards away and he has every intention of drifting over in that direction as soon as possible. As his luck would have it, though, a slow song comes on and unfortunately, it's the same song he and Crystal danced to at the Snow Dance. He might not remember that, but she does and she grins happily as she points it out.

"Uh," he starts, fishing for a reason to bail out on this right now. "Crystal, I, like, ugh…" Despite the fact that he's starting to backpedal, she matches every step he takes. When he runs out of space, she's still moving closer and he doesn't catch on fast enough to stop her before she leans forward enough to kiss him.

* * *

Fred is completely oblivious to what Shaggy is going through up until Daphne gestures toward a corner of the room that seems less crowded than others.

"I think Shaggy may be in need of your assistance," she points out.

He spots his boyfriend backing up like some masked monster is approaching him and he spends a few seconds looking around for so ridiculous a cause up until he spots someone following after Shaggy. It's Crystal. "What…?"

"He looks pretty freaked out." Daphne nudges him forward, following close behind as they approach Shaggy and Crystal. It's just in time to see her kiss his boyfriend.

Fred stops in his tracks, but Daphne dodges around him and continues up to them. Even though it's pretty obvious that Shaggy hadn't been all that interested in getting that kiss, it doesn't make the jealous queasiness building in his chest lessen any. Shaggy could realize he doesn't want this anymore – after all, the only girl Shaggy's ever kissed before is Velma and just because they didn't have any chemistry doesn't mean that'll be the case with everyone.

"Fred!" Daphne says, and it's clear this isn't the first time she's tried to get his attention. He must have really zoned out, as she's standing right in front of him now, and Shaggy is just behind her, staring at the ground. She grabs their arms and leads them out of the main party room and into one of several tiny offshoot rooms that are mostly there to provide more seating. This one is empty. Daphne leaves them inside and shuts the door behind her, intending to stand guard until this mess is resolved. A text to Velma quickly brings her an assistant.

* * *

Shaggy doesn't know what he's supposed to say. Fred's eerily silent and it's seriously worrying him. "I didn't want to do that," he finally settles on, but even though he didn't really do anything wrong, he still feels like that's not enough.

"I know," Fred sighs, which is surprising. "I saw you trying to get away from her."

"Are you mad?" He tries, because Fred still isn't looking at him.

The younger boy shakes his head. "No, not mad, Shags."

"I was, like, trying to tell her I was dating someone when she kissed me, Freddy, I swear," Shaggy says, as he slips into nervous rambling mode. "All I said was that I'd dance for one song, but then it was, like, a slow one. Like, the same one from the Snow Dance, apparently and she…"

"Shag," Fred says, and he moves to hover in front of his boyfriend, "It's okay, really. I just… would you have… if you weren't with me…?"

Shaggy's only about 90% sure he's understanding what Fred is attempting to ask him and it's weird to see Fred seem so insecure about something – he's only seen him like this when he's talking about his Dad and Shaggy doesn't ever want to be grouped in with him. "I wasn't interested in her before I was with you, and, like, I'm not interested in her now," Shaggy says. "I'm with you and nothing and no one can change how I feel about you." He catches Fred's hand and anxiously bites his lip. "I was, ugh, going to tell you later, but, like, now might be a better time to say it."

Fred doesn't even have time to ask 'say what?' before Shaggy's kissing him. It lasts for a long, drawn-out minute before Shaggy pulls away enough to whisper, "I love you."

The grin that spreads across Freddy's face almost makes the craziness with Crystal worth it. Fred's hands come up to frame his face and then there's more kissing and there's a hand buried in his hair and he's trying to press closer and closer to Fred. If they were upstairs, he would have a pretty good idea of where this would be leading. But they're not in their room, they're in a public place where people can walk in and catch them. He might not really care if they're out or not, but Fred's pretty worried about it. Somehow, he's the one to break them apart, putting a few feet of distance between them so that they don't start again.

"We, like, we should stop. Or leave the party. Or something, but we should definitely stop doing this here." He's kind of rambling, but Fred's still grinning like it's Christmas. "You okay?"

"I'm awesome," Fred answers, as he nudges Shaggy back toward the door.

Velma's waiting on the other side with a fully informed smirk. "You two kiss and make up?"

Fred laughs, "We might have."

She rolls her eyes and starts to walk away, "Daphne's talking Crystal down, so you should be clear of her for the rest of the night, Shaggy."

They're both glad to hear that. They don't really need any more drama tonight. "You, ugh, think you might want to leave soon?" Fred asks, as it looks like some people have already started abandoning the school-sanctioned party for various after-parties.

Shaggy nods, but Fred catches him looking toward the dance floor. "I wish I could dance with you here."

"Me, too, Shags," Fred answers, "but I don't… I…"

Fred is just full of insecurity tonight. Shaggy squeezes his shoulder gently. "I know you don't want to, and, like, I wouldn't make you. But you owe me a dance once we're alone upstairs."

They probably should have known that escaping more drama wouldn't be that easy.

"Jeez, Jones, and here I thought I was making things up just to screw with you," the regrettably familiar, slightly slurred, voice comes from behind them. When they turn around, Red actually seems kind of surprised his taunting proved true; he also seems kind of drunk. "No wonder you were sticking up for him all the time." A disbelieving laugh comes, followed by, "Dude, you're seriously with that freak-show?"

"Red, don't do this…" Shaggy tries, trying to spare Freddy from being outed by the biggest bully in the school in front of most of their graduating class.

Fred shakes his head and looks away and Red interprets this as a sign of weakness that he can further exploit. His voice amplifies in the room and he gets the attention of as many people as possible. "Fred Jones a fag, who would've guessed?" He stops to laugh, "Well, I guess I did, but still… So that's why he's been at all our practices and games. And why you always show up at school at the same time."

Shaggy doesn't know why they aren't walking away from this before it gets more out of hand. Daphne and Velma step up beside them, trying to glare Red away or something, but it's about as effective as expected.

"Like, I didn't know you cared so much," Shaggy snarks, because no one else is saying anything and this conversation needs to end, "to notice all that, I mean. Someone might think you liked us or something."

"Shut up, Rogers," Red growls out, as his hand darts forward to curl into Shaggy's shirt like it always does when he's about to get shoved into something.

Fred's had enough, though. He shakes his head again and looks Red in the eyes. He's done with this, he's done hiding, and he's done caring what a bunch of Neanderthals think of his feelings for Shaggy. "Get your hands off of my boyfriend, Herring."

All eyes turn to Fred. Even Shaggy's, "What're you doing?"

"You're not denying it, then?" Red asks, once again surprised. His grip on Shaggy loosens.

"Why would I? Shaggy's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Fred defends. Shaggy moves to Fred's side, kind of angled behind his shoulder. As brave as he was in standing up to Fred's father, Red is a little more terrifying for him.

Red laughs. "Is this a joke? It is, isn't it? This is some sort of payback for picking on him or something. Funny, Jones. You almost had me there."

As confused as Shaggy is by Fred's sudden change of heart on being out – not that they have much of a choice anymore – he knows that there's no going back now. A quick exchanged glance and a single nod are all he needs from Fred to confirm that.

Fred catches Shaggy's hand and squeezes lightly before he turns around enough to quickly press his lips against his boyfriend's. "We're not joking, Red. We've been together since December. But high school's over; there's nothing you can say or do to us anymore."

"Wanna bet?" Red counters, taking a staggered step forward.

Other students are starting to circle around them now, like there's going to be a fight or something. Everyone's whispering, some subtly, some less so. A few of the teachers acting as chaperones come over to break up the gaggle of students.

Red's gone silent, but they can tell he's fuming when Mr. Vespucci steps in and gets between them. "Now, that's enough, everyone. Get moving." Together with a few other teachers, most of the crowd gets shooed away. Then it's just the gang versus Red and a couple of stubborn onlookers who didn't drift too far away. "Is there a problem here?"

"No, Mr. Vespucci, we're leaving. C'mon, Freddy," Shaggy says, urging the younger boy to walk away before Red tries punching their faces in. "Let's go."

"Not so fast!" Red says, and he grabs Fred's shoulder before they can take more than a step. It's Fred's bad one, the one that's still kind of messed up from what Red let happen on the football field during the Championship game. While it's mostly healed, certain things tend to make it hurt like hell – Red's rough vice-grip is one of those things.

Fred hisses at the unexpected pain and Shaggy's moving before Mr. Vespucci can keep them apart.

"Get off of him!" Shaggy shouts, shoving Red back. Velma and Daphne pull Fred away just as Red tries for a swing at Shaggy. He easily avoids Red's sloppy and uncoordinated attempt – whatever level of intoxication the bully is at certainly helps, as does several years of practice at honing his dodging abilities. But, this time he fights back.

Shaggy swings and manages to land an impressive punch not unlike the one Fred had gifted the bully with last year. It's entirely in self-defense, as Red starts barreling forward on unsteady feet. Red stumbles backwards and ends up hitting the floor as he recoils in shock. Shaggy opts to ignore the colorful threats and the array of curses Red is spewing at his retreating figure. He's done.

Fred grabs his hand as they leave the room.

* * *

Shaggy finds himself pressed back against the door of the hotel room the second after it clicks shut. "Mmph," he gets out, before Fred's lips connect with his again. Shaggy drops their overnight bags – quickly fetched from the back of the Mystery machine – off to one side and let's his hands settle on Fred's hips, pulling him in closer.

"So, mm," Fred starts to say, but he's rather distracted when Shaggy's mouth opens against his and then his tongue is delving in and the older boy lightly nips at his bottom lip. "Were you okay with how all that turned out?"

It takes a minute for Shaggy's brain to realize what he's talking about, even when Fred pulls back enough to put a temporary stop to the kissing. "Like, I'm not particularly thrilled that Red outed us and we didn't out us, but I'm okay with the idea that it happened. And, ugh, thanks for, like, not denying it." That would have hurt a lot more than he's willing to admit. "You're the best thing that's happened to me, too."

"I, ugh, didn't say it earlier, when you did, but you better know that I love you back, Shags."

"I, like, had a pretty good idea, Freddy," Shaggy grins.


End file.
